Pupil Mobility

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Thames County Primary School, Blackpool

Context

Thames County Primary School, situated near to the centre of the seaside town of Blackpool, has 640 pupils on roll. Children are admitted full-time to the reception class at the start of the school year in which they are five. Attainment on entry is generally below what is expected of children of that age and one third of its pupils have been identified by the school as having special educational needs. The percentage of pupils entitled to free school meals is relatively high, 44%+. Pupils come from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds with a significant number from disadvantaged backgrounds. Few pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds and almost all from homes in which English is the first language.

In 1999 Ofsted commended the school for its many strengths including the good progress pupils made, the quality of teaching and the excellent leadership provided by the headteacher.

Type of mobility

The high mobility for this school is a result of three main influences:

• seasonal work in a seaside resort with a high number of parents working in the hotel, catering and entertainment industries;
  
• the high number of families being housed by social services departments from across the North of England in 'Bed and Breakfast' type accommodation, where their stay is often short term; and
  
• a south to north drift within Blackpool of families in short-term housing.

Using the JPL formula the school had, in 2000-01, high mobility at 33%. The school's Ofsted inspection in 1999 reported that "only 33% of pupils currently in Year 6 started at the school in the reception class and 43% of pupils came from families whose stay in the area is of a transient nature."

Target setting

Sandra Gillibrand, headteacher at Thames, describes her school's approach to target setting:

"Target setting is one of the important tools in our efforts to raise standards of teaching and learning and one of our published aims is 'to secure effectiveness through self-evaluation and strategic target-setting'. For us though, the key targets are the year-end targets, which each teacher sets for each pupil. Obviously, that is done for most pupils at the start of the year. For those who join us mid year we use whatever information we can to set a reasonable end of year target. It is these targets which drive our teaching and learning programmes.

"Simon Taylor, the LEA adviser, is well aware of the challenges facing this school of high mobility when setting the required end of key stage targets. We think it is impractical and unhelpful to set specific targets for pupils who are not yet in the school. So, to deal with the uncertainties that come with mobility, we set a range for each of the targets we use: for example, '70%-76% of pupils to achieve Level 4 in English. The LEA records the target in the EDP at the mid-point - 73%. We don't change our targets in the light of changes in the roll because those coming in seem to have, on balance, such a similar attainment profile to those leaving that the individual difference doesn't justify the time and energy needed to change global figures.

"But we do need to understand the effects of mobility so we compare our overall end of Key Stage 2 results with the performance of our 'core group' (those pupils who have been in the school from the start of the reception year). We find that the 'core group' performs significantly better than the overall end of Key Stage 2 cohort. For example, in the 1999-00 results the overall cohort achieved 70% Level 4 and above for mathematics and the core group scored 80%. Our staff and governors are looking at these outcomes and the questions they pose. For example, 'Do the mobile pupils overall have a lower profile on entry than those already in the school or do they make slower progress because of the disruption they have faced?' The answers to those questions will inform our next round of planning."

Ethos and activities to achieve high standards for pupils in a school with high mobility

The school has a high commitment to inclusion. One of its key aims is 'excellence for all'. This has led it to identify 'mobility' as a key priority and to target resources (both in terms of staffing and money) to support action on this issue. A key part of the job description for one of the two deputy headteachers relates to pupils' mobility and the school has a detailed policy document entitled 'Non-routine Admissions' covering identification, inter-agency liaison, record keeping, assessment, links with parents, resources, co-ordination of support and dissemination of information.

As the school has been identified as having high mobility it receives some additional finance from the LEA.

Above all, Thames School considers that the key to good progress for children who are 'non-routine admissions' is a high quality induction programme that has the following elements:

• a full discussion with the parent(s) about the child and expectations the school has for the child and for parents.
  
  
• non-routine admissions arranged, on most occasions, to start on a Tuesday.
  
  
• teachers informed by lunch-time the previous Friday if they are to receive a new child.
  
  
• within a week following admission, the admissions co-ordinator (currently a deputy head) will cover the class to allow the class teacher one to one time with the new pupil.
  
  
• the admissions co-ordinator, or a trained and designated classroom assistant, will assess the pupil's reading, spelling and basic numeracy if possible before, if not after, admission. Outcomes of this will be matched with information regarding the pupil received from the previous school. An appropriate reading book will be issued. An appropriate 'setting group' will be discussed with the year leader.
  
  
• after a month's settling in period the parent(s) is invited in to discuss progress.
  
  
• a pupil buddy is assigned to the new child from the first day.
  
  
• the admissions co-ordinator keeps a watching brief on new entrants and ensures good communication between the class teacher, set teacher, SENCO and other agencies where appropriate.
  
  
• the school has identified that school uniforms can be a problem for families of children who frequently change schools. It therefore adopts a simple 'white shirts' uniform policy and keeps a supply of shirts available free to children. For presentation occasions, concerts, assemblies, school visits etc. the school makes white shirts available to all. The school's washing machine is frequently in use!

When a pupil leaves full and detailed records are sent to the receiving school. These records include end of year targets and shorter-term targets in order that the new school can pick up immediately at the right point.

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